Font Size: a A A

Searching For Female Identity In The Magus

Posted on:2013-04-14Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:Z M XueFull Text:PDF
GTID:2255330395990949Subject:English Language and Literature
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
John Fowles, one of the greatest novelists in20th century, is not a productive writer but his works have got much attention from both readers and critics at home and abroad. Fowles’s real virgin works, The Magus, has made a stir in Europe and the United States as soon as it was published and is well received especially in America. It is a fantastic novel worth further probing and exploration.Fowles’s works are full of his solicitude and sympathy for women and Fowles himself also claims that he is a feminist in a general sense. The thesis, from feminist perspective, aims to make a systemic analysis of the living conditions of the female under patriarchy, Alison’s awakening process and Fowles’s strong feminist tendency embodied in the writing skills adopted and the revised version.The thesis consists of five parts.The first part is introduction. This part mainly introduces Fowles’s living background, literary accomplishment, the present international and domestic research on The Magus, some main terms of feminist theory referred to in the essay and the structure of the essay.Chapter one aims to analyze the reasons leading to female’s empty image. The patriarchal ideology and value force the female to live in the margin of the society and are treated unequally as the Other. Nicholas considers Alison as a doll which can be fetched and abandoned at will, and Alison, abused, abandoned and cheated by Nicholas, is confronted with the crisis of losing identity.Chapter two explores Alison’s searching for identity and selfhood. The Athens trip makes Alison thoroughly be disappointed with Nicholas and finally corporate with Conchis, the director, Julie and June, the actresses, of the Godgame with an aim to educate Nicholas. Alison’s alleged suicide, the calf love story of Conchis, the story about the WWII and other measures taken in the godgame finally weaken Nicholas’s patriarchal ideology and he finally begins to treat women as the equal subject with equal subjectivity and freedom.Chapter three mainly discusses Fowles’s feminist tendency. The subversion of the traditional female image fully reflects Fowles’s feminist tendency. In addition, Fowles spent several years revising the novel after its publication. In the revised version, female characters are endowed with more freedom and subjectivity, which reinforces the penetration of the feminist consciousness in the novel.The last part is the summary and conclusion of the essay. Generally speaking, it is mainly the patriarchal value that pushes the female into the inferior status and forces them lose their identity, but once the female awake and make efforts, they can finally regain their selfhood and identity. The Magus is a works full of female consciousness and deeply permeated with Fowles’s feminist tendency.
Keywords/Search Tags:John Fowles, The Magus, patriarchy, female identity, feminist tendency
PDF Full Text Request
Related items